


Taken Into the Pack

by Angelicat2



Series: Animal Sheith [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Everyone is a wolf, Hurt Shiro (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Character Death, POV Krolia (Voltron), Past Violence, Protective Keith (Voltron), Protective Kolivan (Voltron), Wolf Keith (Voltron), Wolf Shiro (Voltron), Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24189082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: Krolia, Kolivan, and Ulaz are on a hunt when something disturbs it, allowing it to get away. When they go to search for what scared it, they find a wolf.But this wolf is a pup, barely older than Krolia's own single pup. They must decide what to do with him, and a certain red ball of fire never gives up on his newest friend.
Relationships: Keith & Kolivan (Voltron), Keith & Krolia (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith's Father/Krolia (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Kolivan/Krolia (Voltron), Shiro & Ulaz (Voltron)
Series: Animal Sheith [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745806
Comments: 5
Kudos: 131





	Taken Into the Pack

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my wolf pup Sheith fic! Enjoy!

Krolia snuck further in towards the giant elk in the distance. She can see Kolivan and Ulaz in the corner of her eyes, both edging closer and closer to their latest prey. With this, they could feed the pack well. It was a buck, larger than most she’d ever seen. Already she was imaging bringing the kill home to her little one, who was just old enough to be stumbling about, playfully tugging on the pack member’s ears and tails.

She pulls herself out of her thoughts, not wanting to get too far ahead of herself. Prey got away from them sometimes. She is just happy that they do not desperately need this meal. Creeping forward, she freezes as the elk looks up. It doesn’t look in any of their directions though, one ear flapping around before it narrows its eyes. A moment later, it goes back to eating some grass. 

Krolia glances at her pack leader and mate, who nods back slightly. At the same time, Ulaz tilts his head, likely wondering if they were going to proceed. Krolia wags her tail to signal that they were going to attack still. She inches forward, keeping into the green grass. They would look like shadows to the elk, especially with their black fur.

A whole minute goes by before she freezes again. The elk’s head snaps up, ears straight forward back in the direction from earlier. This time, she hears it too. Something is moving loudly off in the distance. The noise startles the elk which bulks at the sound, bolting away towards Krolia. She’s so shocked by the whole event that she doesn’t move in time to tackle the elk. The giant creature rushes by her and she snaps out at it. 

She misses it by inches.

“We’ll get it,” Kolivan shouts before running by her, wind whipping her fur, “You investigate whatever tipped it off. Don’t engag-”

“If it’s something dangerous,” Krolia speaks up before running off in the opposite direction, “Got it, Kolivan.”

She rushes for whatever made the sound. She runs for a full three minutes before creeping behind a large rock. Climbing the brown thing, she peeks over it to see what had bothered the elk.

It’s...a wolf?

The wolf sniffs at something along the trees before trying to munch on a blade of grass. She watches carefully, noting that the wolf seems to be hungry. She can see their ribs from here and they’ve seemed to have missed a lot of meals lately. The wolf is grey, clearly not part of her pack. She doesn’t need their scent to know that they are alone and that they aren’t from nearby. She narrows her eyes, wary of trespassers and attackers. It could be a distraction to get her pack killed. She already lost her first mate, she couldn’t stand it if her boy died too.

Her attention goes back to the wolf in front of her. Said wolf huffs slightly before whining, paw scraping against the dirt. Their tail slaps the tree nearby, which seems to startle them as they yelp, twisting around to look behind them. At the same time, the poor thing twists around as if to bolt, tripping over their own feet, crashing to the ground with a cry of surprise. Krolia watches as they go rolling down the nearby dip, landing on their back. 

If this is a distraction, it’s a terrible one.

She risks it anyway, slipping down from the rock. She sneaks closer and closer, glancing over the dip to see that the wolf is struggling to get to their fee…

No, they’re struggling to get onto three feet. A large messy set of scars covers the stump of what should have been the wolf’s right arm. It’s gone from just below the shoulder, only an inch or two out of the body. A scar covers the wolf’s muzzle, looking painfully new as if he had just been attacked recently. It was a guy wolf, one who was beginning to look small to her, not in size but in how he acted. Said wolf licks his remaining front paw before whining again, a small howl leaving his mouth before he whines some more.

In her surprise, a twig under her paw breaks, snapping loudly in the quiet clearing. The wolf...pup’s ears flick to her before his head stares right at her with a hopeful look.

“Momma?” He asks before his ears move backward, fear striking his features as he scoots back some, “Wh-who a-are you? Leave...L-leave me alone.”

“It’s okay,” Krolia doesn’t bother moving closer, “I won’t hurt you. I am Krolia, and you are in my pack’s territory. Who are you?”

“I...am Shiro,” the pup answers back with a scared voice, “I...I can leave. I’m sorry about intruding. I’ll...I’ll go...”

He tries getting back to his feet, but the lack of a paw and the hunger that he’s barely evading must get to him, for he falls back onto his backside, huffing with a long whine. Krolia’s honestly shocked he’s made it this far, especially with how wounded he had been. From here, she can now see other scars littering his fur, as if something has tried to shred him to pieces. There’s some on his back legs, on his back, on his belly, everywhere. He’s about half her size, and now she understands it’s not just because he’s a different type of wolf. 

It’s because he’s a juvenile wolf, just barely older than a pup. He must only be 12 or 13 weeks old, but he’s not at the weight he should be. In fact, she watches as he whimpers slightly, front paw finding his belly.

“What is happening over here?”

Shiro’s ears spring up before he rears back in even more fear. His eyes fly from her to two spots off to her sides. She glances over to both directions, seeing that Kolivan and Ulaz were now nearby. Kolivan stands tall, the alpha and leader he’s always been. Ulaz stands to the side, watching Shiro curiously with a tilted head. The pup only sprinks back more as they inspect him.

“Don’t scare him,” Krolia speaks back at them before huffing, going closer to the wolf pup who flinches back some, but doesn’t move. She turns so that both sides can see her, “This is Shiro. Shiro, these are some of my packmates.”

“Ohhh,” Shiro says softly before his ears go back, “They’re gonna eat me, aren’t they?”

“Why would we eat you?” Ulaz wonders softly, tail swishing behind him as he sits, “We do not eat wolves.”

“But…” Shiro blinks before he whines a bit, tail covering his back paws, “That’s what the other pack did.”

“What other pack?” Kolivan asks as the pup shrinks back in fear, “What other pack, pup?”

“Kolivan,” Krolia hisses as she glares at him, “Stop scaring the pup. He’s already hungry and tired and hurt.”

Kolivan stills, listening to her. She was second-in-charge, and he never forgot it. He took her word seriously, of which she was grateful. She turns back to the other grey wolf who shakes less, one ear up with confusion all over his body.

“My pack,” Shiro answers after a moment, a low whine leaving his throat, “They were home at the den when a swarm of black wolves attacked. They took out my whole pack...momma and dad...my brothers...I got away but one of them grabbed my paw. Now it’s like this...it's...gone...”

“The Galra pack,” Ulaz frowns before coming closer, keeping his movements carefully slow to not startle the pup more, “They are well-known for their brutal attacks. They happen to be relatives of ours, but we don’t agree with their views. I am Ulaz, a member of the Marmora pack. Can I check your arm?”

“I...Ye-yeah,” Shiro stares up at him, honey-grey eyes wide before he leaves himself open to be touched. Ulaz comes closer, sniffing at the torn arm and the scar over his nose, “That was from a fight. I...uh...I don’t want to fight. It’s...hard without...without my leg. Ran into a bear. Bear didn’t want to share her food.”

“Hah, bears get that way,” Ulaz laughs softly before glancing over other areas, “It seems you are okay. You are merely starving, but I don’t see anything else wrong.”

“Can we bring him back to the pack?” Krolia asks Ulaz, seeing Kolivan’s annoyed twitch in the corner of her eye. He’d just have to deal with it, “If we can get him on his feet again, perhaps he will be okay to find his own pack.”

“With enough food and rest,” Ulaz pauses before tilting his head again, “It seems possible.”

“No,” Kolivan steps closer to them, chest out calmly as he stares the pup down. This time, the pup doesn’t cower, probably knowing he has an ally in her and Ulaz, “We cannot afford to take such a risk. This pup is far too weak for that. He’s a liability for the pack, Krolia. His missing paw will only come back to ruin everything we’ve worked for. We cannot keep him.”

“Cannot or won’t?” Krolia asks with narrowed eyes as she stands before the pup who stares with large eyes, “I understand what you are saying, Kolivan bu-"

"No, I don't think you do," Kolivan growls before huffing, face tight, "We cannot afford to feed such a pup. He will be growing, Krolia. We are okay right now, but if some of us should pass, how will we survive? We can't afford to feed him for the rest of his life. Everyone must pull their weight, Krolia, you know this."

"What if it were Keith?" Krolia speaks after a moment, ears back, "What if our pack were destroyed by the Galra? What if Keith were in Shiro's paws? Would you wish for a pack to make sure he could survive?"

"That is…" Kolivan growls a bit before narrowing his golden eyes, "That is not the point."

"But it very well could happen," she warns him, "Would you want the pack to leave Keith? To abandon him when they could have helped him? Kolivan, Shiro is barely older than him. We cannot condemn a pup to starvation. I know you are worried about us and our safety, but sometimes we must take risks."

"I will not allow it," he shakes his head, "For all we know, he may very well be tracked to us. Would you let in this pup if it means the death of your pup, Krolia? That is what you risk with such an action."

"I…" Krolia glances at Shiro who blinks at her. A moment passes before he winces, ducking his head down, ears bent, "Kolivan...Why do you make this seem as though we only have two options?"

"Because," he growls before sighing, "I've seen you in pain, Krolia. You've lost your chosen mate before. I don't want you to go through the same pain with Keith. If we lead this one to our den, he'll only bring the others with, knowingly or unknowingly. I cannot bear to be responsible for such bloodshed, Krolia. I care foremost for my pack, no one else."

"Even a defenseless pup?" She asks softly, walking up to him before nuzzling along his neck.

"Even a defenseless pup," Kolivan closes his eyes, "I am sorry, Krolia. But we cannot keep him. He must leave our territory and whatever happens to him is what happens. That is final."

"I…" Shiro speaks up with his ears back, eyes on his one paw, "I'll just...go...I didn't mean to hurt you. Don't...don't get into a fight over me, okay? I'll leave your pack."

He gets up on shaky paws. He climbs the tiny dip, shaking even more. Unfortunately, his leg trips over a small pebble, causing him to crash down the dip again with a yelp. This time, he rolls further down, plopping out of the tiny hole. He comes to a stop just before their paws, left paw trying to find a grip on solid ground.

"Stupid...arm…” He growls softly before getting back up. His energy is spent, as he falls down again, a small whimper leaving him, “Sorry...Sorry...I’ll go...I’ll go.”

A tiny howl leaves his mouth again before he curls up, tail covering his face. Before any of them can move, a blur of reddish black runs by.

“Mom!” 

Said thing crashes into Shiro who yelps in surprise. Both scoot back some, but neither fall into the small pit behind them as the red blur slows down. A tiny head pops up behind Shiro, staring up at her before he moves closer. He practically climbs on top of Shiro, resting his paws on the others head. Shiro stares up at him, but he doesn’t seem to notice Shiro there as he wags his tail.

“Mom!”

“Keith! What are you doing out here!” She exclaims with wide eyes, “You’re supposed to be back at the den! And what happened to Regris and Antok? Did they let you get away again?”

“No,” Keith huffs before wiggling less, ears down, “I snuck away, just like you taught me.”

Kolivan stares forward in annoyance, growling a bit.

“I regret ever teaching you that,” he huffs before rolling his eyes, “Too much like your mother.”

“Like mom like son,” Ulaz chuckles from the side as they glance at him, remembering that he was there. Keith lets out a tiny howl before pausing, noticing for the first time that he was standing on something that was not the ground. Ears perking up, he glances down at brownish-grey eyes.

“Who are you?” He asks curiously before sniffing the larger. Keith’s about one-fourth of Shiro’s size, hence why she wasn’t worried about him being on top of the other, even with the malnourishment. The younger leans closer, paws patting at Shiro’s head. The slightly older blinks at him, ears moving up as Keith’s do the same, “You smell weird. Wait…”

Keith leans over, pressing his head to the other’s. Shiro whimpers in surprise, but it doesn’t sound like a scared cry. It’s more...intrigued than that. A moment passes before Keith leans too far, falling off of him with a squeak.

“Another pup! I’m not the only pup! Look, mom! Another pup!” Keith gets up right away, shaking his body out as dust flies. Krolia doesn’t even know how he could have gotten dirty as it was mainly rocks here. The youngest pounces playfully at the other who ducks. The look on his face isn’t one of fear like it had been for them, but rather with happiness. A tiny woof leaves him before Keith gets his ear, the other too tired to move out of the way. Keith lets go, seeing that the pup isn’t playing with, though he looks ready to, “What’s wrong? Play?”

“Can’t, buddy,” Shiro responds back before he rests his head on the ground, “Too tired. Besides, I’m not part of your pack.”

“But you smell lonely,” Keith whines softly before glancing at them, grey eyes large and deceivingly blue as he sits down, “You can be part of the pack. Can we keep him? Mom? Please?”

“Keith…” Krolia frowns softly but the younger jumps up.

“He’s like me!” Keith shouts out, a tiny howl coming out, “Pops died in the fire. We have to help him! Dad would want it. Please, mom.”

She winces. Of course her old mate would have taken in this pup without hesitation. He was kind like that, for that had been how she met him. He had saved her when she had wandered too far out of their land, injured and lost as ever. He had taken her into his desert den, provided her with food and water and shelter. It’s where she stayed for months. It’s where she fell in love. It’s where she had her pup. It’s also where she lost him, a campfire starting a huge fire that devoured him whole as he protected their pup from nearby hunters and flames.

“He…” She pauses before sighing. She’s about to say no when she glances behind her son to see that Shiro’s staring at Keith in shock, eyes larger yet. His ears are up as he watches Keith. As soon as he sees that she’s watching, he ducks a bit before glancing at her, scared again, “He...can stay.”

“Krolia…”

“He is a pup,” Krolia frowns as she looks back over at her leader, “And Keith is right. My old mate would have taken him in in a heartbeat. And his leg is not the issue here. Plenty of wolves can still hunt and mate without parts of their bodies. Antok is one such wolf who is missing an eye. He is one of our best warriors.”

“Krolia,” the taller stares at her before his eyes move to Keith who growls at him. He’s too small to be threatening, but he fights for it. He stands in front of Shiro protectively, chest puffing out like he’s seen all of the others do in their pack. It’s cute even with the circumstances, looking like a ball of scarlet and blackish brown fur. Kolivan stares at him before raising a brow and huffing, “Keith…”

“No! We’re keeping him!” Keith growls louder this time, stepping closer to Shiro, tail up and body stiff in a dominant stance. It’s so adorable that she would have given in right there, “He is my new friend! I like him! He stays!”

Kolivan’s eyes narrow on the youngest as he steps closer, clearly unamused. A few sharp teeth flash from his mouth as he growls slightly down at Keith who doesn’t back down.

“Don’t get mad at Keith,” Shiro blurts out as they all look at him. He gets to his feet shakily, legs quivering as he steps forward to stand by Keith’s side. Though he’s larger than the youngest, he doesn’t seem threatening at all, “He’s just...he’s a pup.”

“You too,” Keith states, refusing to look away from Kolivan. A second goes by before he whines a bit, finally glancing at Shiro. He quickly presses to Shiro’s chest, his nose brushing grey fur before he stares up, nose barely touching Shiro’s chin. The other huffs happily before dropping his head down enough for Keith to nuzzle against his muzzle, “You’re not much older than me, old timer.”

“I…” Shiro frowns before sighing, “Yeah.”

“See?” Keith turns back to their leader who just stares, “He’s my friend. We have to take him in. I have a feeling about this.”

“A feeling,” Kolivan gives him a flat look, “A feeling…”

“He was correct the last time,” Ulaz speaks up, watching them both, “If not for our pup, we would have all died in that rockslide weeks ago.”

“I…” Kolivan stares harder before shaking his head, “Alright. Shiro comes with us. But we’re going to keep an eye on him. One mis-step and he’s gone. He’s already on thin ice for scaring the elk away. I’ll see you two back at the den.”

And then the leader walks away.

“Thanks,” Shiro glances at Keith before sneaking a glance at Krolia, “For that.”

“You’d have done the same for me,” Keith grins up at him, tail wagging quickly before he shakes softly, “And I like you.”

“You said that before,” Shiro laughs softly before plopping his butt onto the rocks, “Ompf...Still tired and hungry.” 

“Don’t worry about Kolivan,” Krolia speaks up, walking up to the two wolf pups, “He’s tough, but he means well. Welcome to the pack, Shiro.”

“Thanks for having me,” he grins softly before a whimper comes out, “I don’t think I can get back to the den though.”

“It’s no problem,” Ulaz speaks before gently nipping at Shiro’s nap, the smaller yelping in surprise. The taller lifts him like he weighs nothing, which leaves the younger hanging there with his tail shaking.

“And you are coming with me,” Krolia fondly picks up her boy in the same manner, making sure he can’t wriggle his way out of her grip, “Or no food tonight.”

“But I want food,” Keith pouts a bit, a low whine coming from him, “Can’t eat meat yet.”

“I know,” Krolia moves forward towards the den as Ulaz joins her. Shiro lies limp in his hold, just listening to them talk, “My milk is enough for now. If you’re good, I’ll share some of my meat.”

“Ohhh,” Keith’s tail wiggles against her chin as he practically vibrates, “Yes! I’m hungry! Are you hungry, Shiro?”

“Starving,” the other answers softly before snickering, “I like you too.”

Krolia just grins as they march back to the den. She gets the feeling that these two will become the closest of friends.

**Author's Note:**

> I really want to add fics more that deal with their life stages. Keith is about 8 weeks old so he's still drinking his mom's milk and just starting to eat meat. Shiro is about a month older, able to eat meat on his own without anyone else assisting. 
> 
> Krolia's pack is a breed of large black wolves and she met a grey wolf that was colored brown. Keith somehow got the red coloring from somewhere in the bloodline, standing out from the pack with his color and size (even later). Shiro himself is a grey wolf that is colored grey as the name says.
> 
> Wolves are interesting. Anyway, thanks for reading!


End file.
